Not a Creature Was Stirring

“It was the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.”

“Daddddddy, I’ve heard this one before.” Alisha squirmed between us, trying to make more room for herself.

“Oh trust me, This is different than the normal tale. Now, where was I.” I cleared my throat before reading on. “In this house, two children were playing late at night, unbeknownst to their parents. They held planes in their hands, flying them across the lands. In their imaginations, they were in a fierce dogfight, with twists and turns at every corner. Their parents had shooed them off to bed, to no avail. The attempts were meant with darkness, like from a nightingale.”

“Suddenly a bang could be heard around the room, a bang that to the children seemed like certain doom. ‘It’s Santa!’ they cried, not wanting to lie, they snuck to their beds to sleep.”

“However, a creature was afoot, one that punished bad little boys and girls. Ones that didn’t sleep for Santa to come. The window shattered, the curtains were tattered, and the creature was in the house.”

“It crawled around on all fours on the creaking wood. Step by step it went until, in front of the children’s door, it stood. They could hear its breath as it came inside. They pushed up their covers, trying to hide. It pulled off the sheets, as fast as a jet, and when the children opened their eyes, they looked at the creature, expressions of surprise.

“It was hairy, furry, and almost blurry, as it stared into their soul. They shivered in terror, hoping the creature was there in error, but alas it was the declarer of their crimes.

“But suddenly, in a fit of magic, the creature disappeared in a graphic display. Their sins had been forgiven, on this Christmas day. The children went to bed, waiting for Santa to come. He would give them sweets, that would make them go yum.”

“So the children learned on that faithful day. They respected their parents, went to bed on time, and got presents galore, of which they adored. The End.”

I closed the book with a snap as I laid it back behind the bed. There wasn’t much time until midnight, and we still had to put the presents out for Alisha. “And like those kids, I think it’s time for someone to go to bed.
“I’m not tired,” Alisha complained as I lifted her up into my arms.

“But if you don’t go to bed, then Santa won’t come, and you won’t get any presents! Now, wouldn’t that be sad?”

“I want Santa.”

“Then you better go to sleep.” I turned to my beautiful wife. “I’ll be back in fifteen. Can you uhh finish the decorations for Santa?”

“Sure. He has to have his cookies after all.” Olivia winked at me before turning towards the kitchen.

I walked through the halls after hoisting Ariana onto my shoulders. Despite her protests, her eyes were starting to sag slightly, shoulders drooping. This was the latest she’d ever stayed up before. Normally I would have never allowed it, but today was an exception.

I felt her head drop on my shoulder, the tiredness was clearly hitting her. Alisha was cute when she slept, actually, she was always adorable. I could hear her small breaths in the quiet dark hallway, she was already asleep.

I pushed open the door to her room, unlocking the seven locks that blocked her door. A variety of bright Christmas trees greeted my eyes, making me turn off the lights to see. Alisha insisted that she needed christmas tree’s in her room instead of a night light and that Santa would be mad at her if she did anything different. Not being one to reject Christmas cheer, I bought those for her the day she asked on the way back from work.

Her warm body shifted slightly as I took her off my shoulders and onto her bed. The ginormous Queen sized bed made Alisha look even small than she was and even cuter.

The door slowly creaked closed on the room as I tried to be as quiet as possible. How she slept with all the Christmas tree lights in her room, that was anyone’s guess, yet she found a way. The power of a four year old was outstanding.

I locked the seven locks on her door and pained a seal on it real quick before walking back through the halls. Her room should be safe from anything that tried to get in, you never know what would happen to people living in the woods like we did. Stories of Bear attacks were all over the local news it seemed, though it’s not like anyone had died in a long while. Still, it was better to be safe than sorry.

Olivia was laying down on the couch when I got back, a pile of presents on the floor next to her. One look at her told me she was passed out. As long as tomorrow goes well, then she could sleep as long as she wished. I piled the presents under the tree, smile at the notes from “Santa” Olivia had written on Alisha’s presents.

“BOOM” Lightning struck next to the house, the thunder rattling my bones. It made me jump in supplies, dropping the present in my hand. Rain started to pour down outside, drops racing down the windows after dropping down like a paratrooper.

“Ugg what was that?” Olivia sat up on the couch, holding her head.”

“Just a lightning strike, looks like we’re going to have a wet Christmas this year.” said, collapsing on the couch next to her after fixing the present I dropped.

“Hopefully It cools down a bit. We could use a while Christmas this year.”

“BOOM” Another large strike pounded the ground, sending another shockwave throughout the house. “Well, I guess we well see honey, we will see,” I said as the rain pattered against the walls.